Let me briefly tell you that there are multiple forms of dementia - alzheimer’s disease being the most common one that accounts for 40 to 75% of dementia cases and is the sixth leading cause of death in United States. Additionally, dementia and its types have common signs with some variations. Let’s start with the most common signs of dementia most commonly seen in patients at the early stages of the disease. They start experiencing subtle memory loss, mood instability such as immediate occurrences of maniac (laugh) and depression (sadness) episodes, and have trouble with listening and explaining things to other people, communicational obstructions to be exact. They also segregate their selves from social gatherings and unions, face difficulty in performing daily chores and also experience muscle impairment. Additionally, some people fail to converse with other people because they fail to keep up the pace and comparatively take longer to process the coming words and repeat the same question over and over again. Most of the cases showed that, dementia patients start segregating their selves and start living alone because they could not keep up with the lives of normal people. They just are not up for the adaptation to change. In one of the form of dementia, which is Lewy Body dementia, probable signs appear to be sleeplessness. Patients experience insomnia which leads to mood swings. It has been seen that they fail to keep tracks of roads and lose their tracking skills as well. In case of Alzheimer’s, a patient the most common signs are memory loss and forgetfulness. In some cases, it has been observed that people with Alzheimer’s segregate their selves from others. Additionally, they experience complete memory loss and trouble understanding visual images and spatial relationships, lack the judgement skill and a complete withdrawal from work or social activities. One most commonly observed is the forgetfulness and inability to retrace steps. There is another type of dementia called Parkinson’s characterized as uncontrollable movement of body parts such a shaking limbs and fingers. It has been observed that patients experience writing and speech changes, their ability to respond fails badly and they lose posture and balance. One of the common sign is bradykinesia characterized as slow body movement. One thing to keep in mind before labelling someone as a dementia patient is that forgetfulness and memory loss do no really mean a person has dementia because memory loss and forgetfulness are a normal parts of aging. But if any severity has been observed in these signs, a patient definitely requires a professional advice and consultation. There is no cookie approach to cure dementia but if you observe such changings or signs in your loved ones do not take it

Abra
Thank-you for the post.
At first, when I read it, my thoughts were, ' as if we don't realise that's !! As a wife, who's adored husband is suffering with vascular dementia and suffered strokes I do actually know there are different types of dementia. I see the results and deteriorating affects in all of the residents including heartbreakingly my husband, each day I visit him in the nursing home.Others, with loved ones who have dementia, will understand what I am feeling and saying I'm certain. Of course everyone is unique, with or without dementia, MH issues etc. Of course as familes, we all have to find some way of coping, all different. Sometimes we cope, sometimes we have a very bad day, but pick up because we have to.
So, as stated, I felt very irritated and patronised when I first read your post, I now realise others may not know what you were explaining and probably find it helpful.
This is me being honest and hope not offensive to you and offers.

Sometimes memories sneak out of my eyes and roll down my cheeks

Last edited by Pet66 on Sat Nov 12, 2016 9:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Yes I thought that at first Abra. ''Well I know that.'' Then as I read on I thought ''Good, he's explaining it perfectly for those who have no idea what its like to cope with dementia in all its forms.''
My wife has vascular dementia also and struggles more some days than others, as do I.
She's up and about early today, 9:30am which is a huge improvement over the past few days when its been midday.

I have just been talking to our son in NZ and he fears his FIL has onset Alzheimer's as he keeps forgetting things.
He had his own Post Office for years and has just had to give up working for someone else as he keeps making mistakes. Thats taken extremely seriously by the PO and can lead to a prison sentence and any shortfall has to be paid back by the offender.
He's now retired since our son gave him a good talking to and his wife put her foot down, rang the PO and forced him to retire last Thursday. Sad but necessary. He's only 74 the same age as me.

'' When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on!" (Thomas Jefferson)

Dear Rosemary,
After reading your blog, I feel I have to express my gratitude for your words, which have mirrored my feeling perfectly. That sense of loss is tormenting at times, having your person in front of you and yet feeling him/her so lost. Losing someone before his actual death is too much to cope with. I look at my dad sitting in his chair, with a lost glance in his eyes, staring in the void and I see him young, listening to Pink Floyd, laughing, taking so much pleasure in driving his car or taking pictures with his expensive camera... I cry hidden in the bathroom, silently shaking and then I return and pose in the strong character of the house.
I can perfectly feel your words. I am living those...

My mum had her diagnosis in December. It wasn't a total surprise to us although she protested vigorously which we encouraged on the basis that she might as well go down fighting.

It's horrible! My mum was always a sharp cookie, very particular but she's slowly declined with a sudden catastrophic plummet during the last few days while in hospital recovering from a broken hip. She knows me and my sister and her eldest grandson which we are gripping to frantically.

The saddest thing is that this is the second time this horrible condition has battered our family. My lovely Nan who would never have said a bad word to anyone was afflicted.

I can't help fearing that I will head the same way and because I'm the carer in our family there won't be anyone left.

All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle - St Francis